ELMIRA, NY -- With a flair for the dramatic, the Elmira College women's basketball team picked up its second consecutive one-point win in less than 24 hours, as the Soaring Eagles clipped Alfred University, 59-58, on Saturday afternoon.
On Friday evening, the Purple and Gold (4-11, 2-3 E8) scored five points in the final seconds for a thrilling 72-71 overtime win over Houghton College. Tonight, the Soaring Eagles trailed by as many as 10 points early on before trading one-point leads in the final minutes of regulation. Bridget Yaw '20, who made an important 3-pointer with six seconds to go to set up the game-winner against the Highlanders, poured in the winning points against the Saxons (4-11, 0-4 E8) with a pair of late free throws.
Alyssa Waters '22 came up with the key defensive play to spark Friday's heart-pounding win, but her performance on the offensive side of the ball against Alfred was exceptional. The Plattsburgh, New York, native posted a career-high 22 points despite playing much of the second half in foul trouble. Waters would finish with seven field goals, including two treys, and a 6-of-10 showing at the line – all without committing a turnover.
Joining Waters with double-digit points was Lauren Franklin '20, who logged a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Yaw contributed seven points, five of which were earned at the line, with six rebounds and three assists.
Although Alfred raced out to a 15-5 lead in the opening period, the Soaring Eagles dropped 23 points in the second, the most by either team in a quarter. Heading into the fourth, the Saxons held a one-point lead, and that cushion grew as large as seven points with four-and-a-half minutes to play. Down 54-47, however, EC went on an 8-0 run, sparked by a successful Taylor Johnson '23 and-one. With one minute to go, Franklin bullied her way through the lane and finished with the left hand. Her layup drew a foul had Elmira clinging to a 57-56 lead, and although she missed the freebie, Yaw hauled in the rebound, allowing the Soaring Eagles to burn more time off of the clock.
The lead switched hands on two more occasions in the final 30 seconds, first after Lyndsey McCoy drove the baseline and kissed a reverse layup off the glass to put the Saxons ahead 58-57. With 14.3 seconds left, Yaw drew contact as she cut to the middle of the floor. Her first foul shot was pure, but the second rolled around the rim twice before falling through for the lead, 59-58.
Alfred was given two more opportunities. As the clock wound under 10 seconds, Gillian Flint settled for a tough hook shot from the right block that bounced off the front of the rim. Then after Elmira missed two free throws, the Saxons had 0.8 seconds to pull off a catch-and-shoot, but the half-court heave was well short.
In Their Own Words…
Head Coach
Devin Shea on responding from a tough stretch of games with two exciting one-point wins…
"It's really exciting to see. I think the quality of play that we've had since the New Year with St. Lawrence, with Sage, and how well we competed, our kids have been ready. Our hard non-conference schedule was prep for us to be able to come and compete in-conference."
Coach Shea when asked about the career-high 22-point effort from Alyssa Waters…
"I think she played a really aggressive game. Alfred plays a phenomenal defense that's not quite a man, not quite a zone, and it can really shake a team. Although we didn't perfectly execute the game plan, we became players. We had people step up, and playmakers make plays. Alyssa had a lot of those opportunities and was able to create a lot with what she can do with the ball in her hand."
News and Notes
- Elmira pieced together back-to-back wins for the first time since November 17 and 19, when they beat Becker (67-61) and Wells (56-34), respectively.
- The Soaring Eagles have won 14 of their last 15 games against Alfred.
- Prior to this weekend's one-point wins over Houghton and Alfred, the last time EC won multiple one-point games in a season was 1999-00; the Soaring Eagles took down Salem State, 57-56, on November 20, 1999, and defeated Cazenovia on December 2, 1999.
- Waters eclipsed the 20-point plateau for the first time as a Soaring Eagles with a career-high 22.
- Franklin's double-double marked her fourth of the season.
- The Elmira offense committed just six turnovers against the Saxons, the fewest of the season.
- 17 free throw makes and 27 tries are both season-highs for EC.
Up Next
Elmira's non-conference finale is slated for Tuesday, January 21, against the Broncos of SUNY Delhi. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. inside Speidel Gymnasium.